Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 280

Woojin had found one secret of the Golden Print. But it was just the start.

It was like he had finally gotten the key to a secret room called the ‘Golden Print.’ This room was full of hidden information, and now he was stepping inside.

Now he knew how the Golden Print worked. It was time to find out what information it held.

And so, Woojin was thinking hard again.

This battle with the Golden Print was his alone. No one else could help him.

‘These large and small golden squares floating above the blueprint… what could they mean?’

Woojin sat alone in the meeting room.

On the table in front of him was a very large blueprint. It was bigger than a meter wide and long.

To see the Golden Print clearly, he needed a large and detailed plan. So, he drew it on a very big piece of paper.

Woojin’s idea worked well.

The Golden Prints were like faint golden lines, shimmering just above the blueprint. They were clear enough to see, but seemed to float and shift, making them hard to grasp.

‘The problem is, even if I look at the shapes, I have no idea what they could be…’

In the corner of the meeting room, there were many blueprints rolled up like scrolls. They were all the size of full sheets of paper.

Woojin used ideas from the design meeting two days ago. He drew the blueprints himself and showed all the Golden Prints.

Of course, the Golden Prints on each blueprint looked different.

So, Woojin spread out the blueprint with many Golden Prints in one place and began to think carefully.

He chose this one because he thought it would be easier to find the message of the Golden Print if he could compare as many golden lines as possible.

‘Is it showing how people move, like when I designed the nursing home? Or is it showing the flow of light, like when I designed the office building?’

Woojin made guesses and used his imagination, trying to understand the message the Golden Print was trying to tell him.

He had stayed in the meeting room since morning, even skipping lunch. No one came to check on him.

Everyone in the secretary’s office knew not to bother Woojin when he was locked away like this, thinking about blueprints and designs.

But around three o’clock in the afternoon, someone knocked on the meeting room door for the first time.

Knock knock knock-

The sudden knocking startled Woojin.

‘Hmm? Is it that late already?’

It wasn’t the fact that someone had come that surprised him.

He had a visitor scheduled for today.

Her appointment was at three o’clock, but he was so focused on the Golden Print that he lost track of time.

Woojin, feeling a little embarrassed, called out to the door.

“Yes, come in.”

Creak-

A woman in smart work clothes and high heels entered the meeting room.

Tap- tap-

“CEO, what are you working on here all by yourself?” Minseon asked.

Woojin scratched the back of his head. “Well, you can see I’m looking at this blueprint…”

The woman Woojin was meeting today was Yoon Minseon. She was an exhibition designer he had met through Seokho.

Today was Woojin’s second meeting with Minseon.

It was the first time they met without Seokho.

Woojin was surprised when he saw her.

Minseon looked very different from the day they first met.

‘Was she always this beautiful?’

Minseon, who had worn comfortable clothes and glasses before, had looked simple and natural. But today, with makeup, she looked completely different.

His surprise didn’t last long. Woojin felt a little awkward again.

He felt sorry for Minseon.

“I’m sorry. I was working and didn’t realize the time.”

He had planned to go back to his office before she arrived at three, but he had forgotten the time in the meeting room.

She had come all the way here, so Woojin felt bad.

Luckily, Minseon didn’t seem upset.

“It’s alright. It’s good to see you’re focused on your work.”

“Haha, I told the secretary’s office, but I guess there was a misunderstanding.”

Minseon winked. “I actually came a little early.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s about 2:50 now.”

“That’s right…”

“I told your manager not to bring me to you, CEO.”

“Ah, I see.”

She smiled. “Since I’m here for work anyway, it’s easier to come straight here.”

Minseon’s eyes were fixed on the large blueprint on the table.

She was at WJ Tower because Woojin had asked for her design advice.

He had asked Yoon Minseon to help with the design, and they had a work agreement. She was here to do real ‘work.’

But she was looking at the blueprint more out of interest than for work.

“Can I sit here?”

“Please do.”

While they talked, the secretary’s office brought them coffee.

Woojin sat opposite her and took a sip of coffee, taking a break.

The blueprint was still right next to him.

After some light talk about everyday things, Minseon brought up work.

“By the way, CEO, do you usually work on blueprints on such large paper?” she asked, her eyes bright.

Woojin shook his head.

“Not usually. But this design is very big, so I used a large piece of paper.”

Minseon had more experience in exhibition design than Woojin.

But in architecture and space design, Woojin was more famous.

So, Minseon looked at Woojin’s new way of working and the blueprints with interest, wanting to learn.

“That’s an interesting idea. I should try that too.”

“Oh, really?”

“It could give you a different way of seeing things, instead of always drawing blueprints the same way.”

Watching Minseon nod and touch her chin, Woojin tried hard not to look embarrassed.

He was using the large blueprint to find the secret of the Golden Print, not for a new design method.

But he didn’t need to tell her that.

Woojin wanted her to join WJ Studio, so he wanted to make a good impression.

While they talked, Minseon had already approached the blueprint and was observing it with an interested expression.

Woo-jin leaned forward, a hint of caution in his voice as he watched Min-sun closely.

“So, Ms. Min-sun,” he began, gesturing towards the large blueprint spread across the conference table, “what do you think?”

Min-sun looked up, a thoughtful smile gracing her lips. “About this?” she asked, tapping a finger on the intricate lines of the design. “The blueprint itself?”

“Yes,” Woo-jin confirmed, holding his breath slightly.

Min-sun’s smile widened just a fraction. “Well,” she said, her eyes meeting his, “what kind of truth are you hoping to hear, Mr. Woo-jin?”

Woo-jin chuckled, relieved by her playful tone. “Just the honest truth, Ms. Min-sun. That’s why I asked you here. No sugar-coating.”

“Really?” Min-sun asked, sounding a little surprised.

“Of course,” Woo-jin replied quickly.

Min-sun began to examine the blueprint even more meticulously. After about ten minutes, she finally spoke.

“First of all, I looked at this blueprint from two perspectives.”

Woo-jin, intrigued, asked, “Perspectives… you mean?”

Min-sun placed her hand on one side of the blueprint and continued in a composed voice, “One is as an ordinary designer looking at the architectural design itself.”

“……?”

“The other is as a practitioner who has to plan and design an exhibition in this exhibition hall right away.”

Woo-jin’s eyes sparkled even more. ‘She understands quickly, as expected,’ he thought. It seemed Min-sun was already prepared to give the feedback Woo-jin wanted most.

“Could I hear your impressions from both perspectives?”

“Don’t be hurt now, okay?”

“My mental state isn’t that fragile. Haha.”

Woo-jin knew this design on the conference room table wasn’t his best work. It was merely one of many intermediate drafts. So, even Woo-jin thought the design was far from complete, and he wouldn’t be particularly hurt even if Min-sun gave it a harsh review. ‘I might be a little disappointed if she praises it, though….’

Min-sun’s feedback was exactly what Woo-jin had hoped for – honest and insightful.

“First, as an ordinary designer, if I were to give my opinion on this design, I’d say it’s an unfinished design,” she stated.

“Oh, why is that?”

“The layout itself is fresh, and it seems like you put a lot of thought into the space, but…,” Min-sun pointed to various parts of the blueprint and continued her explanation. “Looking at these parts, it seems like you’re too focused on the concept.”

“Is the space allocation not good?”

“No, the traffic flow is the problem.”

“Ah.”

“This would cause the entrances and exits of Sector A and Sector C to overlap, which I don’t think is a good design.”

Listening to Min-sun’s words, Woo-jin was quite impressed. ‘She figured out this much in such a short time?’ he thought. The blueprint on the table wasn’t his favorite, but still, Min-sun was pointing out flaws that Woo-jin hadn’t even noticed in such a short amount of time.

“I’m glad I brought you here today, Ms. Min-sun.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“Then, could I hear from the practitioner’s perspective this time?”

“Sure.”

Min-sun, who had been making quite sharp criticisms from the start, made even stronger criticisms from the practitioner’s perspective. “Spaces like these are as good as dead spaces at a motor show, Mr. CEO.”

“Hmm, why is that? It looks like there’s enough space to display at least three cars.”

“There’s a difference in elevation here, right?”

“Ah…?”

“The structure makes it impossible for vehicles to enter at all.”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that….”

“So, this sector needs to be completely redesigned.”

Min-sun’s comments on the blueprint Woo-jin had initially laid out went on for over 20 minutes. And when it was all over, Woo-jin was nodding without even realizing it. ‘She definitely sees things differently as a practitioner. Or is Ms. Min-sun just exceptionally skilled?’

As Woo-jin rolled up the blueprint on the table and pushed it to the corner, the other blueprints that were rolled up and standing there naturally caught Min-sun’s eye. It was only natural that Min-sun’s eyes widened upon discovering them.

“Gasp……. Don’t tell me those are all blueprints… right?”

Woo-jin laughed. “Haha, why wouldn’t they be?”

Min-sun asked again with an incredulous expression, “Wasn’t the announcement made about a week ago?”

“That’s right.”

“And you drew this many blueprints in just one week?”

“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve slept much.”

“Wow…….”

Woo-jin asked Min-sun, half-jokingly, “You can’t leave until you give feedback on all of these today……. Is that okay?”

Min-sun also smiled and replied, “Well, I came prepared. The amount of money deposited in my account is quite substantial, you see. Hee hee.”

Woo-jin went to the wall of the conference room and slowly selected the next blueprint to show Min-sun. ‘I showed her that blueprint first because it had the most Golden Prints on it……. But it seems like it wasn’t a very good blueprint after all.’ Recalling the first blueprint and Min-sun’s feedback, he began to deliberate on which blueprint to lay out next.

As he was thinking, a blueprint came to Woo-jin’s mind. ‘Should I lay this one out this time?’ It wasn’t completely satisfactory, but it was a blueprint he thought had turned out quite neat. But even so, it was the blueprint with the fewest Golden Print apparitions.

Woo-jin deliberately showed a blueprint with a completely different style from the first one.

Whoosh-

Min-sun, approaching it, began to carefully observe the design again. And, after about ten more minutes like this, the first words that flowed from Min-sun’s mouth were these.

“Mr. CEO.”

“Yes?”

“This blueprint……. It’s amazing!”